Gunner's Calendar - May

"Today's lesson chaps is all about manners..... " 14/9/2010

Mangal and Wurzel, our first curly coated pigs, arrived here in April 2007. Gunner followed shortly after in June that same year. So pigs were always part of his life. A part he took very seriously from the start....... which was why I felt it was important to include at least one picture of him with pigs in the calendar. I'm not sure why this one, but when I was looking through them all, this one kept calling me back. It has a real feeling of the dog and the piglets being equally interested in each other.
The first litter of curly coats was born here in November 2007 and from the beginning Gunner would position himself outside their pen and watch them in wrapt fascination. In the early days we tried to keep them in the pens with their mothers, an impossible task. We were forever rounding them up and returning them to the correct pens or blocking up gaps in fencing where they broke through. Those of you who have read back to the early years of this blog doubtless chuckled at our vain attempts. Gunner watched our efforts with interest. Soon he was instrumental in helping round them up and became self-appointed guardian of the piglets. Within a couple of years we admitted defeat and allowed the piglets to free range wherever their trotters took them. Visitors grew accustomed to being greeted by hordes of happy piglets trotting up the drive or mooching by the back door; users of the adjacent bridlepath grew used to being followed by them or rang us to advise whereabouts the piglets were! They always returned to their mums eventually but Gunner would keep an eye on them, bringing them back if they strayed too far. Everyday when I did the feed rounds he would mingle amongst them, gently minding his own business or having words with them about their role in the world!  I used to joke about him giving them their daily lessons and teaching them manners......
Other times he would just sit motionless watching them go about their business......
As with everything, Gunner took his role of PigKeeper very seriously. Whenever weaners left for pastures new or older pigs for their final journey, he would be there inspecting, assisting and occasionally hampering their progress into whatever transport was being used! Even moving them from pen to pen required his presence to ensure proceedings went according to plan and if we delivered pigs to custodians, Gunner would be first out of the truck to check out the new premises!
We took the decision at the beginning of last year to "get out" of breeding the curly coats for a number of reasons. Now, I cannot imagine having them without Gunner being around.

The "fickle finger of fate" ........................